"Seriously, why make such a scary move all of a sudden?" Paimon crossed her arms, staring displeasedly at the red-haired youth.
Diluc didn't respond. He took out a clean cloth and wiped the table, where a few ashes had fallen.
"Hehe, since Master Diluc is so willing, then we'll wait patiently for good news." Venti chuckled lightly, then said to the others, "Oh my, I still want to drink here for a while. Let's meet again tomorrow."
"No problem, we'll head out first."
Nolan nodded and left the tavern with Lumine and Paimon, walking outside.
As it hadn't been long since they entered, the adventurers who had discussed them earlier were still chatting away inside. Nearby, Jack seemed to have had too much to drink and was slumped over the table.
Outside, another group of people were toasting and drinking, creating a lively scene.
"..Hmm, looking at them, I feel a bit hungry too. It seems like everyone hasn't had dinner yet," Paimon floated along the road, rubbing her stomach.
Lumine stretched her arms, the dim streetlights reflecting off her armpits and side chest, creating soft wrinkles where they met.
She parted her lips and yawned, smiling at the young adventurer beside her, saying, "I treated at lunch, so it's your turn for dinner."
Nolan pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"Hmm, that's not a bad idea. Since it's late, why don't we go to my place? Cooking ourselves is cheap and practical! And my rented house and the inn you're staying in are on the same street, so it's convenient to go back."
Paimon floated in front of him, looking at him with some suspicion. "What are you talking about being cheap and practical? You won't just whip up some stir-fried shredded pork and call it a day, will you? Remember, we had a big meal at lunch!"
"Yeah, if it's too half-hearted, hmph!"
Lumine placed her hands on the sides of her waist, the backless white dress hugging her figure, and looked over with a slight smile.
"Don't worry, although my cooking skills are average, I know quite a few tricks. I'll try my best to whip up a perfect meal for you guys on the spot!" Nolan assured, patting his chest.
"Hehe, that's what you said!" Paimon looked pleasantly surprised, seeming to sense Nolan's enthusiasm.
[Paimon Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 150 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv. 3 (90/300)]
Lumine's fair face lit up with a smile. "Hmm, I'm looking forward to it."
[Lumine Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 100 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv. 4 (235/400)]
When they arrived at Val Berry Street, Nolan's home, Lumine and Paimon both showed surprised expressions at the two-story exquisite house.
"I didn't expect you to be so wealthy, living in such a beautiful house!"
Paimon widened her starry eyes and looked at him.
"Haha, it's the property of Eula, the captain of the Knights' reconnaissance team. Since I'm acquainted with her, she rented it to me cheaply." Nolan explained briefly, then led them inside.
The high-heeled over-the-knee boots stepped on the ground in the courtyard, and Lumine, with a puzzled expression, asked, "Eula? The captain of the reconnaissance team? It seems I haven't seen her in the Knights' of Favonius?"
"Because she's on an outside mission. I reckon she'll be back soon for a break," Nolan speculated as he entered the living room.
"Wow, being able to rent such a beautiful house cheaply, the captain of the reconnaissance team must be quite wealthy, hehe. I really want to be friends with her."
Paimon rubbed her hands together, revealing a greedy look.
Lumine watched her with a helpless expression, rubbing her forehead as she walked away. She settled onto the light blue soft sofa in the living room, her soft buttocks sinking slightly into the cushions.
She propped her right foot on tiptoe, stretching her legs out and sinking into the plush backrest.
"Finally, I can rest for a while." The golden-haired girl sighed softly.
Feeling more tired in Mondstadt than during wilderness travels, Lumine was relieved to have found the Anemo Archon and hoped Venti could provide some clues about her brother.
Meanwhile, Paimon curiously explored the exquisite two-story building while Nolan busied himself preparing dinner in the kitchen.
Before long, a series of dishes, looking appetizing and probably delicious, were neatly arranged on the table.
Paimon's mouth was watering, but instead of diving in eagerly, she looked towards the light blue sofa, preparing to call her best friend.
"Traveler, dinner's ready. Why are you asleep?" Paimon scratched her head, a puzzled expression on her face.
On the sofa, Lumine had leaned back against the backrest and drifted off to sleep. Her chest gently rose and fell, and her lips exhaled evenly.
"Is she too tired?" Nolan, about to sit down for dinner, also noticed Lumine sleeping.
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"It seems so. Since arriving in Mondstadt, the Traveler hasn't had much sleep, always on the move, so we'd better not disturb her rest for now."
Paimon said, rubbing his chin, then spoke to Nolan in a concerned tone, "Hmm, won't it be uncomfortable for the Traveler to sleep like this? Why don't you fetch a pillow and help her take off her boots, adjust her sleeping position?"
"You're quite the taskmaster, Paimon," Nolan teased, but he didn't refuse.
"Oh, please! I'm so small, how could I possibly move her? Don't tease me like that; I'll give you a nickname too!" Paimon hugged her arms, turning her cheek away as if to ignore him.
Later on, Nolan fetched his pillow from the room and had Paimon hold it while he squatted down in front of Lumine's legs.
He gently lifted Lumine's leg with his left hand, feeling the extreme softness in his palm and fingers, while his right hand continued to lightly loosen her boot from her ankle.
Then, with a gentle tug, the boot slid off her leg, revealing pure white semi-transparent stockings underneath.
Compared to wearing boots, there was a warm and smooth touch as his palm supported them.
After removing both boots, Nolan had Paimon place the pillow at one end of the sofa, allowing Lumine to rest her cheek on it while lifting her legs onto the sofa. He then covered her with a thin blanket, ensuring her comfort.
As time passed, morning arrived.
The dim light seeped through the windows, illuminating the living room, ultimately falling on the light blue sofa.
Yawning, Lumine rubbed her eyes and opened them. Feeling relaxed, she suddenly felt something pressing against her stomach.
Lifting the thin blanket covering her, she saw Paimon, without her golden crown, fast asleep on her abdomen, a droplet of saliva at the corner of her mouth.
Like she was dreaming of something delicious.
"Oh, speaking of food, did she sleep over at Nolan's place last night?" Lumine thought awkwardly.
"Ah, you're awake, Traveler. Time for breakfast!" Paimon popped up from under the covers, yawning. "You were sleeping so soundly last night that I didn't want to wake you. So, you had to make do on the sofa."
"Oh, I see. Wait, what about the inn?" Lumine suddenly realized she might have wasted the 8000 mora she spent on renting the inn.
"Why don't you just stay here? There are spare rooms anyway, and it's better than spending so much on an inn," Nolan suggested, coming out of the kitchen with breakfast.
"Hehe, that's right! The conditions here are even better than the inn. Let's stay here for a while until we earn some mora," Paimon agreed, smiling.
"Hmm, wouldn't that be too much trouble?" Lumine hesitated. Staying at the inn might deplete her savings, especially considering Paimon's unexpectedly large appetite.
"Why would it be? Think of it as roommates. Besides, you're an honorable knight. Just mention it to Caption Eula, and I'm sure she won't have a problem with it." Nolan suggested after some thought.
After all, this place was rented to him cheaply by Eula. Others might not have the same treatment, so it was polite to inform her regardless.
"Well, thank you then," Lumine said, glancing at the over-the-knee boots lying next to the sofa. She stretched out her feet, unzipped the boots with her hands, and nodded in agreement.
[Lumine Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 200 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv. 5 (35/500)]
It wasn't beyond Nolan's expectations that Lumine would agree.
After all, her previous affection for him was at level four, indicating a good friendship. Living under the same roof wouldn't be a problem with the right opportunity.
After breakfast, they went out to buy some daily necessities, then returned to tidy up the unused room on the second floor.
It took them about two hours to finish.
Later, they went to the Adventurers' Guild, where Lumine registered as an adventurer and familiarized herself with the specific procedures with Nolan's help.
The commission was issued in the Adventurer's Guild because there was a lot of repair work in the city after the storm, and a certain construction team didn't have enough manpower and needed help urgently.
The commission fee wasn't high, just 20,000 mora per person, more or less equivalent to a day's temporary work.
At 6 p.m., after successfully receiving the commission fee, they returned home, had dinner, and rested for a while. Then, nearing midnight when Angel's Share tavern was about to close, they began heading there.
Not long after, Nolan and the others arrived at the tavern again, just in time to see the last customer leaving.
"Hey, Master Diluc, we're back!" Paimon shouted as she flew into the tavern, followed closely by Nolan and Lumine.
"Oh, hey there. You're right on time," Venti belched, his face still slightly flushed. "I just got here myself."
"From afternoon till now, you've spent 120,000 mora here. If you can't pay, you can stay back and wash glasses," Master Diluc, today doubling as a bartender, said calmly to the somewhat disheveled bard.
He had long noticed that this guy had been hanging around without a penny in his pocket.
"..Ahem, what about Nolan and Lumine?" Diluc's words made Venti feel a bit embarrassed as he glanced at the newcomers.
"You singing bard! You've spent over a hundred thousand mora in just one afternoon! We don't have that kind of money to lend you!" Paimon stomped angrily in mid-air.
Just yesterday, she and the Traveler were worrying about mora, and now this guy had spent so much in just one afternoon.
What's the point of being the Anemo Archon if you're not going to act like one!
Barbatos has this problem; not only does he love drinking, but he also loves expensive drinks. Gods can be picky too.
Nolan commented somewhat exasperatedly.
"Yeah, I think cleaning up the tavern suits you," Lumine said with a hint of a smile, her fair hands resting on her waist.
"Haha, Traveler, you're kidding, right?" Venti pretended to be adorable and widened his eyes.
In the end, Diluc didn't actually make Nolan and the others pay. He allowed them to owe him, considering they were all working together to solve Mondstadt's crisis.
"As for finding the Tears of the Stormterror, I've gathered plenty of clues," Diluc said, laying out a map of Mondstadt on the counter. The group gathered around, focusing their gaze on it, noticing a red circle drawn around the Thousand Winds Temple and two in the Dadaupa Gorge.
"According to the information I've gathered, the Stormterror has recently been seen in these areas. If there's a place where the Stormterror's Tears are most likely to be found, it's undoubtedly these locations," Diluc stated calmly.
"Wow, Master Diluc, you're really reliable," Paimon said, somewhat amazed. To gather such detailed information in just a day.
"So, we just need to follow the map to search in those areas?"
Nolan tapped his head lightly, asking. It had been quite a while, and he didn't remember the specific details of the game's plot, but with his increased strength and memory, he vaguely recalled these locations.
It seemed they also had to deal with monsters or something.
"That's right," the red-haired Diluc said, folding his arms. "Tomorrow morning, bring two more helpers with you. The Abyss Order is very cunning, and they might cause some trouble."
Hearing Diluc's words, Nolan's expression turned thoughtful.
If he didn't remember wrongly, wanting to clean the poisonous blood in Dvalin's body in order to save it actually relied on Lumine's purification power, after all, the Stormterror Teardrops, also known as the Red Crystals, flowed out of its body.
Both powers aligned; if Lumine could purify the tears, she could naturally cleanse Dvalin's blood.
And in the game's plot, after Venti and the others repaired the Holy Lyre, they hadn't had much of a chance to speak with Dvalin before suddenly appearing Abyss Mages disrupted everything.
And they even damaged the Holy Lyre in the process.
If they really brought a few more people as Diluc suggested, took out the Abyss Mages in advance, and prevented the Stormterror from escaping, their plan should proceed smoothly.
At the end of the game's plot, it was still going to be a fight with the Storm Dragon anyway.
There's nothing wrong with being a little ahead of schedule, right?
(End of Chapter)
Word Count: 2225
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